Man badly hurt at Gatwick Airport

A man was seriously injured after being crushed between a toilet truck and a baggage conveyor vehicle at Gatwick Airport.

The findings of an investigation into the accident were published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch in its March 2015 bulletin.

The man was hurt on December 23 2014 as he was guiding a toilet servicing truck towards a Boeing 737 which was being boarded by around 140 passengers.

The truck failed to stop and ran underneath the aircraft, tearing a hole in the fuselage and crushing the victim against a baggage vehicle.

The report stated: “After about 140 had boarded and as the flight crews were completing briefings and performance calculations, they felt a lurch sideways accompanied by a grinding noise.

“They received a call from the cabin crew who reported that a ‘lorry’ had hit the aircraft.”

When the commander left the plane to find out what had happened, he found the truck partially under the rear of the plane. He estimated it had overshot by about 3.5metres.

The report said the driver was standing next to his cab with his head in his hands. His colleague was lying on the ground “calling out in pain”.

The report stated the driver had accidentally hit the accelerator pedal rather than the brake. It added the injured man had been standing behind the vehicle as he guided it rather than to the side, which was better practice.